Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Survivor- All Final Fours

I had this crazy idea in my head recently. There are many ideas for all stars seasons of Survivor, but one I've never seen is all final fours from varying seasons. Could it ever happen? We'll see. There would have to be four or five tribes and they would start with each season on one tribe by themselves. I will do a run-down of each final four and whether it would work or not. I am only going to include a final four if it was two woman and two men. The first season had that, but there are many issues with it and why it will probably never return. Sue quit the second time so her return seems unlikely. Rudy is probably too old to play again. Kelly said, originally, at least, that she would never do this sort of thing again. Rich would be the only one available, provided he can leave the country. This then takes us to the second season. It had two men and two women. Since Elisabeth is too busy with The View (unless the rumors are true that she's leaving) she would be the lone holdout that prevents it from happening. The third season was three men and one woman. The fourth season was three women and one man. The fifth season had two men and two women. But while that would work on paper, Jeff Probst hates everything relating to Thailand and called them something along the lines of the worst final four ever. So that would probably never happen. The sixth season was three men and one woman. The seventh season was three women and one man. The eighth season was two men and two women, but it has a couple on it who are now married to each other with three children. I don't think that they'd let Rob and Amber play the same season again together. Who would take care of their kids while they're gone? Would they really abandon them just to play this again? I think that they are both done with the game. I don't know if their kids watch the show or if they'd ever want to play when their old enough. I have no idea how old they are now, but Survivor would be in its 39th season before a contestant younger than the show can play.

The ninth season was three women and one man. The tenth season had two men and two women but that for sure will never happen since the fourth place woman has died. The fifth place person was a woman and could replace the right person, but a true final four will never happen. The eleventh season was three women and one man. The twelfth season was two men and two women and I don't see why any of them would fail to return. Terry, especially, has been offered to return a lot, but always gets cut. The thirteenth season might work with an even number of men and women in the final four. But Ozzy is probably done with the game, although I have no idea if he is for sure. The fourteenth season had three men and one woman. The fifteenth season had three women and one man. The sixteenth was all women. The seventeenth might work because it had the same number of men and women. If Sugar's on board, I don't see a problem with it. The eighteenth would also probably work as well, although I'm also unsure. The nineteenth was three men and one woman while the twentieth was three women and one man. In case you're wondering why I'm only doing two men and two women it's because that's typically how they always do tribes is with an even number of genders on each tribe.

The twenty-first season was three men and a woman. The twenty-second might have been even, but since Rob is done with the game, it wouldn't be very likely to happen. The twenty-third was three men and one woman. The twenty-fourth was all women. The twenty-fifth would probably work at two men and two women. The twenty-sixth might also work as well, although John said that he might not play again. So to some it all up for you, the resulting seasons are Borneo-no, Australia- maybe, Africa- no, Marquesas- no, Thailand- probably no, Amazon- no, Pearl Islands- no, All-Stars- probably no, Vanuatu- no, Palau- no without exceptions/changes, Guatemala- no, Exile Island- yes, Cook Islands- maybe, Fiji- no, China- no, Micronesia- no, Gabon- maybe, Tocantins- yes, Samoa- no, Heroes versus Villains- no, Nicaragua- no, Redemption Island- probably no, South Pacific- no, One World- no, Philippines- yes, Caramoan- probably yes.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The Exile Island Analysis

Whether you loved it or hated it, Exile Island was a pretty interesting twist. It first appeared in Palau in an unofficial appearance. But after a season break, we saw it appear as a regular twist in many seasons. Then, it was suddenly retired for reasons unexplained to most. Is it a good thing for it to be gone from the game? We'll see. There are many possible reasons why it no longer appears. I couldn't care less about whether or not it will ever reappear. I'm happy without it and I'm happy if it does reappear. But here are the facts: there are lots of good things about it and lots of bad things about it. It's supposed to be bad since you are exiled away from your tribe mates and meant to deteriorate you. There are other twists relating to it. It sometimes helps limit the power of the hidden immunity idol because you can only find it on the island and would thus have to be sent there. So I'm going to list random facts about Exile Island and hopefully make a good post for the person who reads this blog.

39 contestants were sent to Exile Island over the course of the show. The first was Janu in Palau who was the first out of an immunity challenge and was sent their as a one-time punishment. The second was Misty in Panama when it was a regular twist. After the new tribes were formed, Bruce was sent their tribeless with immunity until someone was voted out. Terry was the next person sent here where he would find the all too powerful hidden immunity idol. He would spend the most time there that season. Sally, Austin, Danielle, and Aras would also visit that season. That would be the most of any season when just one person was sent by themselves, although I think there were twists that changed that at least once. Cook Islands would tie with Gabon for least people sent to Exile Island because Palau's twist was only used once. Jonathan would be sent at some point and so would Yul, Candice, and Adam. In Fiji, six people would be sent over the course of the show. Sylvia and Lisi would be sent there after being unchosen by their tribes in a selection of some sort. Earl would be an interesting character there. Yau-Man would go on to become a legend by creating a fake hidden immunity, although his would never be found. Mookie and Boo would also go to exile at some point. While Micronesia could have brought people who had visited before back on another season, this would not happen, although people who failed to visit the first time would visit the second. This season also had half the cast visit the island at some point. Due to the nature of the twist, it seems appropriate that half of the fans went and half of the favorites went. Cirie, Ami, Ozzy, Amanda, and Parvati were the favorites who visited the island. Most of them found an idol but only one would successfully use it while another didn't even take it off the island. The fans who visited were Kathy, Chet, Jason, Alexis, and Tracy. In Gabon, Ace visited and Sugar got sent their five times in a row. Bob and Susie would also visit. Tocantins was the last appearance of Exile Island. Joe and Erinn visited there but there appearance wasn't as memorable as others. Brendan, Sierra, Stephen, and Taj would form the so called exile alliance. While it was focused on for quite some time, it never really materialized and fell apart after the merge, when it was supposed to take effect. Coach was memorable as the last person who ever went there.

Here are the good things about Exile Island. It limited the power of the hidden immunity idol. Nobody found an idol without a clue when the island was in effect. Sometimes you had to go to the island to get the idol at the island. Other times, you found out that the idol was at the beach. You had to show what goes on at the island so people who otherwise wouldn't get airtime would get airtime. It helped keep things even with tribe swaps. It showed interesting things about contestants we wouldn't otherwise know. It brought a certain level of entertainment that wasn't otherwise seen. It helped keep things interesting.

Here are the bad things about Exile Island. It had its flaws and wasn't quite working right. The same person could be and was sent over and over again in back to back episodes and there were no rules against it. They had to show what happened and if nothing did, it made for some bad TV. Coach made it a good thing and not a bad thing. The failure of the Exile alliance makes the island seem worthless. It hindered people's ability to keep up with tribe dynamics. Those who couldn't fit in at camp couldn't at exile either. It caused two people to quit the game. It was boring sometimes. It brought nothing new to the game.

Ultimately, I didn't hate Exile Island, but I didn't like it that much either. I'm glad that it's out of the game, although I wouldn't mind it reappearing. I'm not sure what else to say.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Heroes versus Villains 2

Let's say that Survivor was going to do Heroes versus Villains a second time. Who would make the list and why? What criteria would have to be met in order to return? I am going to include the following people on my list. But first, the rules: Rule 1- The right people must be on the right tribe. If you don't know whether a person is a villain or a hero, then don't include them. Yau-Man cannot be a villain and Richard Hatch cannot be a hero. Rule 2- You cannot choose someone who has played the game three times. If it would be their fourth time playing the game if they're on the list, then don't include them. Rule 3- You can't choose someone from the twentieth season unless it was a hero who became a villain or a villain who became a hero. Rule 4- The setup would be the same as the first Heroes versus Villains. There would be twenty contestants: five male heroes, five male villains, five female heroes, and five female villains. You can include more on the list, but not less. Rule 5- You must choose someone who is likely to return. NaOnka was a great villain, but I'd be shocked if they let her play again because she quit the first time. Rudy was a great hero, but he is probably too old to play again. Rule 6- They should have made it far enough the first time to justify a return. Rule 7- Winners are allowed, provided they can be classified as either a hero or a villain. So if those are the rules, without further ado, my list.

The male villains- The first season brings the obvious choice of Richard who would have returned sooner if not for his time in jail. The second film didn't really have any villains. The third sort of had a villain in Lex, but I'm not going to include him. The fourth season had no obvious people except the one who already returned. The fifth season has Brian, but he's not on my list. The sixth season probably has someone that I can't remember. The seventh season has Burton, who I'm not putting as a returnee and Johnny Fairplay, who I am. I know that he unofficially quit the second time, but he totally has it in him to return, as much as everyone hates him. The ninth season and tenth season have no one. The eleventh could have Judd, but I'm not sure if he would work. If any of the original players from that season were any good, then they would have returned by now. The twelfth season has Shane, who should have been in the first one. The thirteenth has no one due to the limitations of my rules. The fourteenth season could have Dreamz or other people. But, ultimately, I'm going to pass that season. The fifteenth has Jean-Robert, but once again, I'm unsure about that decision. The sixteenth season had no standout villains, unless you think that Erik is one. The seventeenth has Ken, whose stupidity is ultimately what cost him the game. The eighteenth doesn't have someone who hasn't already returned. Besides the obvious one I can't include, Dave is close to being a villain. But I won't choose anyone from that season. The twenty-first had not many men who could call themselves villains that made it that far. The twenty-second could have Phillip, if you include him as a villain. I'm not sure he's either, so he's not on my list. The twenty-third had Brandon, who is probably not going to return to the game. The twenty-fourth obviously has Colton, the biggest villain ever who convinced his tribe to give up immunity. Troyzan might be close to the list, but I'm not sure if he's 100% villainy. The twenty-fifth had no one of interest. And the most recent season had no one really, unless you count Shemar who didn't do much as a villain and was the first male to leave the game. So if you look at the underlined names, you should tell who's on the list.

The female villains- There weren't really any villains in the first season. Well, Sue might have been a villain, but since she quit the second time, I don't think that she'll play again. And since I've never really seen that season, then it is hard for me to think of anyone. The second season also had no villains that haven't already returned, although Amber might work, if she'd actually return. Alicia could also work as well. The third might have had a villain, but I can't remember for sure. The fourth season had Vecepia who won. She might be considered too forgettable to some, but it can be hard to think of any of the women who aren't. Shii Ann was a great villain from the fifth season, but she's not on the list. The sixth season has no one of interest. Lillian was also a good villain when she played in the seventh season, but it could be hard to justify her return. Ami from the ninth season might work. From the tenth to the fifteenth, I can't think of anyone that I can choose by my rules. But the sixteenth had Natalie. Some might miscast her as a hero because she outlasted every fan that season. But in my mind, she's a villain. I'm sure that Erik can help testify to that. Corrine made a great villain from the seventeenth season. I might be forgetting someone from the eighteenth, but I don't think that there's anyone there. The nineteenth had Shambo, but I don't think we'll be seeing her again. The twentieth had Candice who flipped from the heroes tribe and can be considered a villain now. Alas, even though my rules could include her, I'd rather not. I don't know if Alina from the twenty-first season would count or not, so I'm not going to include her. The twenty-second to twenty-fourth season really didn't have any standouts, although I could be wrong. The twenty-fifth had Abby who wasn't much of a villain. I don't know if Sherri from the most recent season is really a villain or not, so I'm not going to include her either.

The male heroes- It's hard to say that there were any standout heroes in the first season who could actually return. Rudy is the closest, but he's much too old to consider anymore. L The second had Michael who would be a great returning player and was considered too much of a what if contestant to be used the first time. Others might be present, but I'm not sure who I can choose. The third could have Ethan, provided his cancer is in remission, but I'm not sure he'd play again anyways. I'm not sure if the fourth season had any heroes or not. The fifth might have had one in Jake. The sixth has no one and the seventh could have Andrew. Chris is an obvious hero from the ninth season. Ian might work from the tenth. Gary could be a nice one from the eleventh. Terry would work from the twelfth. Yul would work from the thirteenth season. The fourteenth could have both Yau-Man and Earl. I'm not sure who would work from the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, or eighteenth. It's hard to say that there were heroes in the nineteenth season, but if there were then Brett would qualify. Boston Rob was more heroic when he did the twentieth season, but he went back to his villainous ways for Redemption Island and he is ineligible by my rules anyways. I'm not going to have a five time player who probably won't return anyways. Fabio seems like a hero in a way from the twenty-first season. I'm not sure if Matt from the twenty-second is a hero. John from the twenty-third is hard to classify, so I won't include him. The twenty-fourth season didn't really have any, although Tarzan did make it the farthest of the men so he might count. The twenty-fifth had Malcolm and possibly others. The twenty-sixth had Reynold. But I ultimately only chose the ones that I underlined.

The female heroes- None of the first season women would work. The second season had Elisabeth who would probably not return unless she was no longer on The View. I'm not sure that Tina would work entirely but mostly because she could, but might not be, unable to do this due to the possible cast for next season. I can't think of someone from the third, fourth, or fifth seasons. Jenna would work from the sixth season, but she's a quitter so I'm not sure that would work. Would Christy work? I think so. The seventh season might have one, but I'll get to that later. Scout might be one from the ninth season. I find it hard to think about anyone from any season that would work. The eighteenth had Sierra as well as Taj. Natalie was definitely one from the nineteenth season. But two contestants in one season with the same name could be complicated. But that has happened in how many seasons? I don't think that matters. Sandra played a more heroic game the second time (and I thought the first time as well). She may be a two time winner, but when the five heroes on the jury vote for you, then you've got a guaranteed win. I'll think about whether she should be on the list. The twenty-first didn't really have any. And neither did anyone until the twenty-fifth season. Denise is an obvious choice for a hero and Lisa would make one as well. The twenty-sixth had no one.

So here's my list for Heroes versus Villains 2: Richard (Borneo and All-Stars), Johnny Fairplay (Pearl Islands and Micronesia), Shane (Exile Island), Ken (Gabon), and Colton (One World) are the male villains. Alicia (Australia and All-Stars), Vecepia (Marquesas), Ami (Vanuatu and Micronesia), Natalie (Micronesia), and Corrine (Gabon and Caramoan) are the female villains. Michael (Australia and Philippines), Chris (Vanuatu), Terry (Exile Island), Fabio (Nicaragua), and Malcolm (Philippines) are the male heroes. Christy (Amazon), Sierra (Tocantins), Taj (Tocantins), Denise (Philippines), and Lisa (Philippines) are the female heroes. Stay tuned for more random blog posts.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

10 Worst Survivor Twists

Okay, there have been some good twists on Survivor and there have been some bad twists on Survivor. In order of tenth worst to worst, I will name the ten worst twists ever. These are just in a matter of my opinion and yours is probably different. First, I'll start by what isn't on the list: The Outcasts twist/tribe is not on the list because I, personally, was a fan of it. Since pre-jury boots are almost never returning players, this helped liven things up and give them a second chance in the game. Without this twist, it would have just been boring like every other season where you are just voted out and that's that. Redemption Island is also not on the list for the same reason. People may hate it, but I like how voted out people get another chance at the game. If I could put certain aspects of Redemption Island on this list, but not the whole island itself, then I would. But I won't. I'm also unsure of whether or not to include Exile Island on the list. I did like how the hidden immunity idol was buried there (sometimes) and you couldn't find it at camp. I think that I will do an entire blog post about Exile Island sometime because there's a reason why it isn't featured on the show anymore. I'm unsure as to whether the one returning player per tribe format is a bad idea or not. Most people hate it, but I'm not sure if it belongs on the list. Now if there are any other bad twists that aren't on the list, it's not because I liked them, but because I don't justify them being the ten worst twists. There are a lot of good twists too, that by nature, are not on the list. But I can talk more about that later.

#10 The hidden immunity idol (Guatemala-present): I know that I'm going to get a lot of crap for this, but I don't think that the hidden immunity idol belongs in the game of Survivor. People who should get voted out magically cheat death instead of making big moves with idols. Sure, it helps keep things interesting and lively in the game, but I don't think that it works quite right no matter how it has appeared in the game. But, even though I don't like it that much, I don't see why it should be higher on the list.

#9 Fans versus favorites (Micronesia and Caramoan): This twist is totally unfair to the fans or new players in the game. It has created two pretty interesting seasons that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise, but I still think that it's unfair since the favorites have experience in the game and are naturally better players. Why they don't just do all returning players is a mystery to me. It isn't as bad as it could otherwise be, but it still isn't that good a twist.

#8 Tribe swap via kidnapping (China): While normally I am a fan of the tribe swap and consider it to be the best twist that Survivor has ever done (if you include tribe dissolves and mutinies, it has happened in more season than it hasn't), this way of doing it was a complete joke. If you don't remember what happened in China the two tribes got to choose for themselves what two people would join their tribe as new members. Only two people would switch and the contestants even got to choose who they were. There was no special immunity given to anyone on the new tribes and when both of them went to tribal council before the merge, a kidnapped player would be voted out. Worst tribal swap ever.

#7 First impressions (Tocantins): Let me remind people what happened in this twist for those of you that don't remember. Before the game really started for the first time, two people were told that they would not be making the journey. They weren't voted out, but they were on the outs with their tribe and never really fit in the game. I do wonder because of this twist if more than 16 people were supposed to be on the season but they changed it to this twist when others weren't available. But it is still a dumb twist.

#6 Fake Merge (Thailand, All-Stars, Cook Islands *, Gabon): A fake merge doesn't really add anything to the game and only really screws the castaways out of a normal game. I admit that it was sort of interesting and entertaining to those who expect a change in the typical format. It did and didn't happen in Cook Islands due to the double boot twist. Also, in Palau, the no merge entirely was just dumb. They never switched the tribes around and when there were ten players left, there wasn't even a merge like there should have been. I had figured in my mind while watching the fourth season that there would always be a merge because even if one tribe won every immunity challenge, there would still be two players left and thus a merge. But probably because the producers wanted just once to see a season with no merge, they did that this season. At least the two screwed players got a second chance the next season. Likewise, a fake merge has never been that good an idea.

#5 Contestants choose their own tribes (Thailand, Palau, Gabon, Fiji): Okay, I'll admit that the producers choosing the tribes can get boring when they do it all the time. They typically put people who will conflict with each other on the same tribe. But contestants choosing their own tribes is very poor in execution. The first time is the only time it didn't create a one tribe being dominate the whole time. But after the fake merge on Thailand, Sook Jai became the first tribe since Pagong to undergo, well, Pagonging. Fiji might not have had a one tribe rule all were it not for another dumb twist that I will get to later. But contestants choosing their own tribes makes the last person chosen always on the outs. And there are other dumb parts of the twist like the leader getting voted out. I basically think that it would be best to never happen.

#4 The Medallion of Power (Nicaragua): What was this anyways? What purpose did it serve? What good was it to the game? I can't think of any real good it did. All it did was help mess up certain tribe's plans and gave some an opportunity for an advantage that most would argue is unfair. Now they only ever did this twist to help with the old versus young twist, but this only complicated things.

#3 The purple rock (Marquesas-present): I'll admit, it has been a long while since we've seen this twist. They only did it once so far when it wasn't even supposed to appear. I think that it probably will show up again at some point, although it's also likely that we'll never see it again. Maybe they didn't like the tiebreaker of votes cast at previous tribal councils. I'm not sure if that worked anyways since it was mostly meaningless, throwaway votes cast. But purple rock seemed even more unfair since it is random lottery against the people who didn't even have votes cast against them at tribal council (hence the reason it was misused the first time). I don't think that it's a good idea. Neither do the fans or the contestants. But it remains the tiebreaker for anything that's not resolved by revotes in any tribal except the final four, and for some odd reason, Ulong's tribal council of two.

#2 Two don't get to play (Palau): Poor Jonathan and Wanda. They weren't chosen to be on either tribe. Instead of being the outsiders on the tribe they'd join by default, they were eliminated from the game. How unfair is that?

#1 Rich versus Poor (Fiji): This is probably the worst twist that they have ever done on Survivor. Even the people behind the show said that it didn't work out as planned and it will probably never appear again. Jeff Probst himself states that he was against this twist. Now because of Melissa's departure from the game before it even began, there were 19 contestants. If she had played, this type of twist might have never appeared in the game. But it did and it led to the rich tribe predictably winning every challenge except one. I don't see how it was fair to anyone and it just didn't seem like a good idea. This is also known to some as Haves and Haves Not